It seems that in all the churches I've been in, the majority of the people think their calling in the church is to be a pew-warmer. You can tell them for me, that I've done a very careful study of the scriptures, and there isn't a calling to be a pew-warmer. I'm sure of that, because I wanted to be "anointed by the Lord to have that calling" (that's a very spiritual sounding way of saying that I wanted to be lazy).

Pastors all over the world are struggling with the problem of not having enough people to do the work of the ministry. It doesn't matter how big the church is, they still have this problem. Various statistics I've heard say that 85 percent of the work in the church is done by 5 percent of the people.

This attitude is keeping the church from growing the way it should. There is no way one pastor can do all the work necessary by himself. Equally, there is no way that five percent of the congregation can do everything that is necessary to insure the proper care, and spiritual growth of a congregation; even leaving out any type of outreach ministry.

If the church is ever going to become what the Lord wants it to become, we are going to have to find a way to motivate the people of our congregations to become involved in what He wants them to do. They're going to have to each find their calling and gifts. They're going to have to learn how to develop those gifts. They're going to have to quit being pew-warmers, and start being soldiers in the Lord's army.

Why is this problem so prolific in our churches today? Why is it so hard to get people who are hard workers in other places to do anything in the house of the Lord?

I'm sure there isn't just one answer to these questions, because there isn't just one thing causing these people to be like there are. But, let's take a look at a few things we can do as pastors and ministers to try and get these people out of the pews, and into the trenches.

According to Psychologists, a child's personality is formed during the first five years of their life. For this reason, they call these years "the formative years." The influences and teaching a child receives during those years will determine who they are, and what they do for the rest of their lives. As such, these are the most important years of childhood, and especially of a child's training.

If this is true in the natural, why not apply it to the spiritual as well? After all, many natural things in our lives show us a spiritual principle. So, if that's the case, then the personality of a new believer is formed in the first five years after they receive Christ. Who they are, and more importantly, what they do for the Lord, will be determined in those first five years.

New believers are almost without exception enthusiastic about anything having to do with the Lord. They will testify to anyone about what the Lord has done for them. This is even more true of a new believer who came out of a really bad background.

If the church doors are open, you can count on the new believer's being there. If there's an altar call for anything, you can count on them being the first to go forward. If there's work that has to be done, no matter how humble the work is, they're ready to get their hands dirty. They're even willing to go cut the pastor's grass if that's what it means to serve the Lord.

What do we do with all that energy that these new believer's have? We tell them to sit in the pew, and wait until they mature a little, before trying to do anything for the Lord. In other words, we train them how to be pew-warmers.

Then, we take those same believers, after they've had years of practice warming their favorite pew, and expect to put them to work. No wonder it's so hard to motivate them to do anything besides warm that pew, they've become very, very attached to it. They've become so attached to it, that they wouldn't know what to do if they left it.

Obviously, if we'd just apply a little wisdom to the situation, we'd realize the need to put all that new believer energy to work. There's lots of work to be done in the church that doesn't require a lot of maturity, or a lot of knowledge of the scripture. Instead of having sister so-and-so, who's been cooking the church meals for 20 years working in the kitchen, we should put those new people to work there, and let her supervise them. Once they are trained, she can be promoted to another position.

Any other "simple" work in the church should be treated the same. It doesn't make any sense having people who should be deacons, or elders cleaning the church bathrooms. We should utilize their experience to free the pastor from other burdens, so that he can concentrate on those things that truly need his attention.

However, putting these new believers to work in the church isn't the only thing we need to do with them. We need to teach them the Word of God as well. It is especially important to teach them the "spiritual works" that go with maturity; such as tithing, praying for people, and winning people for the Kingdom of God. If they don't form a habit of doing these things when they are young in the Lord, there's a good chance that they never will.

There's one detail about promoting people to positions of greater responsibility that I need to bring up. For the pastor to promote these long-time believers to positions of greater responsibility assumes that the pastor has taken the time to train those people, and help them mature in Christ. Some pastors prefer keeping their congregations as babies, so that they have to depend on him for everything. Not only does this impede church growth, but it's a guaranteed formula for pastoral burn-out.

Paul gave some good instruction to the church in Ephesus over this:

And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; ¹² For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: ¹³ Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ:

Eph 4:11-13

Let's take a moment to analyze what Paul wrote here. First of all, he tells us that the five fold ministry is giving as a gift from the Lord Himself. He also mentions the titles of each of parts of the five-fold ministry, to make sure that everyone knows what those positions are.

Let me take a side trip here for a moment. We need to be aware that there is a five-fold ministry, and that it exists for a purpose. The church has basically functioned as a two-fold ministry (pastors and evangelists) for a long time. But, we need all five. In fact, if we only receive from two, we only receive 40 percent of what we need. Nobody can mature that way.

Then he says, "for the perfecting of the saints." This is the same as saying "for the purpose of perfecting the saints." In other words, he's telling us why Jesus gave these ministers to the Body of Christ; so that they could perform the work of "perfecting the saints."

That word "perfecting" can also be translated as "maturing, training, or preparing." In other words, this is the job of the five-fold ministry: "perfecting, maturing, training, and preparing the saints."

The word "saints" refers to all the members of the Body of Christ. The word "saint" existed long before Christianity. It was used in pagan cultures to identify those who had dedicated their life to serving a particular god. Quite literally, the word "saint" means someone one is separated for the work of God. In other words, like I said before, in our context, it means a Christian.

Okay, but what are they perfecting the saints for? That's the next part. It says, "for the work of the ministry." It isn't the pastor's job to do all the work, it's his responsibility to prepare the people to do the work. If he tries to do it all himself, he's actually robbing them of their job, and their blessing.

It's very clear here that the people aren't supposed to sit and warm the pews, but in fact are supposed to work. I'm not just talking about secular work, either. The work that the people are to do is the work of the ministry. Each and every believer is called by God to minister in one way, or another.

I'm not saying that each believer is supposed to leave the church to open another one. Nor am I saying that they are all supposed to be evangelists. There's plenty of ministry work within the church. That's the work the saints are supposed to do; minister for the Lord within the church.

Okay, but how should we define what is ministry, and what isn't? Another good question. Verse 12 goes on to say, "for the edifying of the Body of Christ." The word "edify" literally has its roots in construction. It means "to raise up a building, or other structure." Since we are called "living stones" (1 Pet 2:5), and "the temple of the Holy Spirit" (1 Cor 6:19), it is clear that the building, or structure we are to raise up is us, the Body of Christ.

So, anything that helps in the process of raising up the Body of Christ can be considered the work of the ministry. That includes such obvious things as evangelizing, teaching and preaching. But it also includes such things as:

• Testifying, so that the faith of another might be built up.

• Teaching the children (they too are a part of the Body of Christ)

• Watching the children, so that their parents can pay attention to the message.

• Preparing food for a time of Christian fellowship.

• Building and maintaining the church building, so that the Body of Christ has someplace to gather together and be edified.

• Picking up the pastor's children from school, so that he can use that time to study the Word of God, and be prepared to edify the Body of Christ.

• Individual discipleship, which edifies the one being discipled.

I think you're getting the idea now. Literally anything that helps the work of the church falls into the category of ministry.

Let's go on to verse 13 now, because it shows us the end result of all this work of the ministry. It says, "Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (Eph 4:13).

There are four different results of the work of the ministry mentioned in that verse. They are:

• Coming to unity in faith.

• Gaining a full knowledge of the Son of God.

• Becoming a perfect man.

• Reaching the measure of the stature of Christ.

As a pastor, or other minister, these are our goals; that each and every member of the Body of Christ, throughout the world, gains these four points. Either we try and do it by ourselves, which is impossible, or we work to prepare the people, so that they can carry out the work of accomplishing these goals, under our direction as their leaders.

Many people don't take their part as ministers (servants) in the church because they don't feel as if they have the time. There is so much to do in life, that they just can't see any way of working at their jobs, taking care of their homes and families, and still have time to get to church, let alone any time to work in the church.

There's a saying in the church in the United States, it goes: "Some people are so heavenly bent that they're no earthly good." I'm not so sure about that, but I am sure that the opposite is true. "Many people are so earthly ben that they're no heavenly good."

These people have a problem with their priorities. They think what they are doing is what they need to do, but they are actually running around in circles, because they haven't put God's priorities for their lives in order. As Christians, our priorities should be:

1. Our personal relationship with God - Jesus said, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these other things shall be added unto you" (Matt 6:33). There is nothing else that the Bible tells us to seek, or do first, just this. That makes it pretty clear. Seek God, seek His kingdom, seek His righteousness. In other words, have an intimate relationship with Him first, before anything else.
   

2. One's relationship with their spouse - Many Christian psychologists and ministers put the family in this place. But, when one says "family" one normally thinks "children." The Bible doesn't tell anyone to be "one flesh" (Gen 2:24) with their children, but with their spouse. That's a much closer relationship than any other we can have, except our relationship with the Lord. We can't properly take care of our children if we don't have a good marriage relationship, because we can't give them any security.
   

3. Our children - The only thing we leave here on this earth after our death is the lives of those we impact, especially the lives of our children. If we spend our lives on things, instead of people, we've spent it on "wood, hay, and stubble" (1 Cor 3:12-15). If we spend it on friends, and ignore our children, we are "worse than infidels" (1 Tim 5:8). Our children need our time and attention, to play with them, to talk with them, to teach them, and to discipline them.
   

4. Our ministry - Every believer is called to minister for the Lord, not just the pastors and evangelists. Once again, I'm not talking about leaving your church home to open another church, I'm talking about the work of the ministry to be done within the church. Each believer has their own part to do, and specific people that they are to minister to. Our reward in heaven depends upon our work for the Lord here on earth.
   

5. Our work (to provide for our families) - "But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel" (1 Tim 5:8). Work is a part of life, ever since the time of Adam (Gen 1:19). Obviously, we need to do it, but it doesn't have to be the first priority in our lives. Our provision doesn't come from our job, it comes from the Lord. Remember Matthew 6:33 that I mentioned in #1 above. By the way, for women who stay at home, taking care of the home is their work.
   

6. Everything else - This includes other work that we need to do to take care of ourselves and our families, spending time with friends, and entertainment. I'm not saying that we shouldn't do these things, only that these things shouldn't impede our ability to do the things that are higher priorities.

When you ask people about their priorities, many of them can't tell you with any security where there true priorities are. Usually, they'll tell you what they think is the right answer, not what they are really doing.

There's a simple test that can be used to determine where a person's priorities are. All they have to do is note where they spend their time for one week. If they break the day down into 15 minute segments, and write down what they were doing in those segments, it becomes clear what their priorities are.

Now, there are some things that naturally take a lot of time, such as work, sleeping, and cooking food. Just because a person spends eight hours a day sleeping, doesn't mean that sleep is one of their highest priorities. It just means that it takes that long to sleep. But, if they are sleeping excessively, say nine hours a day, that means that they have spent 7 extra hours in that week sleeping, time that could have been better used on the things that should be priorities. Likewise, if a man works eight hours a day, that doesn't mean that work is his highest priority. But, just like with the sleep, if he is spending ten hours a day working, that's extra two hours per day says his work is a high priority to him.

In all fairness, I must say that there are certain types of jobs which require more than 40 hours per week. Being a pastor is one of them. Some people just have to work more hours. But, if their work is interfering with their ability to serve the Lord, maybe it's time to find another job.

Really, what we're looking for in this is how a person spends their "free time." Free time is time that doesn't absolutely have to be spent on an essential activity. Work, sleep, and bathing are essential activities. So is eating. But, eating doesn't really require a lot of time; maybe 15 minutes per meal. Anything over that is taking away from free time.

Someone who says they don't have time to serve in the church because they watch television three hours every night has their priorities out of order. Likewise, someone who says they can't serve because they are working 11 hours per day.

I think you're getting the idea by now. This is a tool you can use with your congregations in order to help them eliminate their excuse for not serving the Lord, and finding the ministry that He has for them. Don't try and use it as a stick to beat them over the head, but as a way of helping them see the truth of their own lives.

Okay, all we've talked about to this point is the need for the people to work, and eliminating their excuses, but we haven't yet touched on the part about motivating them. Let's get into that now.

Napoleon is quoted as having said, "It's amazing what a man will do for a colored ribbon." There's some real wisdom in that short sentence, which has been used by probably every army that has existed from his time, until today. That is, everyone wants to be recognized for what they do.

Now, I realize that as believers we aren't supposed to be puffed up by pride. But, that doesn't mean that we don't still like to be appreciated and recognized. Pride seeks that recognition, but a humble person can still accept it.

I realize that it might be a little impractical to pass out military style ribbons to our church members and leaders for their service in the church. It would also look a little funny to any visitors to see people in the pews with a series of military-style ribbons on their shirts. They might wonder what type of dangerous cult they'd walked into. But, that doesn't mean that we should do nothing, only that we should do it in another way.

I remember a church we were members of years ago. The pastor would have a recognition dinner for the people who had served in the church once a year. The whole congregation would be invited, and he would recognize those who had served in whatever capacity. Most of the people received a certificate of appreciation specifying the type of service that they had given. A few people, who had done more than the others received something more. One brother, in particular, received an engraved plaque as "the best servant of the year" for doing more than anyone else. You should have seen the reactions. The next year, there were actually brothers in the church who competed to outdo that brother and receive that plaque.

When I was an engineer in the bus factory, we had a serious problem with a particular order of special busses for a customer. The interior of the bus was done in a way that we'd never done before, much fancier than our typical city bus. Somehow, or other, I ended up with the responsibility of making sure that those busses were completed and delivered for service on time, even though the design engineers hadn't finished their job.

It ended up being a massive effort getting those buses to the customers on time. We finally succeeded, even though it meant finishing the work in their shop, instead of in our factory. The vice-president of that company took me out to eat, and gave me one of the jackets their bus drivers wore, which had the company name, and their logo on it.

Now, that may not seem like much, but I wore that jacket like it was a trophy. It was a good quality jacket, but even more important, it was special because they gave it to me in recognition for what I had done.

I give you these examples to show you how effective proper recognition can be. If it worked in them, it'll work for you as well. All you have to do is develop a plan for recognizing the people who are working in your church. Perhaps something that gives greater recognition to people who have given greater service, or more years of service.

Here are a few ideas that you can use for recognition awards:

• A certificate of appreciation, which mentions their specific service.

• A mug with the church's logo on it, and the word "Thanks"

• A shirt, or baseball cap with the church's logo printed, or embroidered on it.

• Some sort of a Christian pin (available from some Christian book stores).

• An engraved plaque, "For Outstanding Service to the Church."

Always give this recognition in public; whether it is in a church service, or some special awards ceremony. It's especially important that it is done in front of those who aren't serving in any way, in order to motivate them to get out of the pews and do something.

Although the Bible doesn't talk much about heaven, or the rewards we shall receive in heaven, it does mention a few very important details. Amongst them are mentioned five crowns that are prepared and waiting for those who earn them. Obviously the Lord thinks it is important to reward those who serve Him as well.

These crowns can quite easily be compared to Napoleon's "colored ribbons" that I mentioned earlier. They are God's medals for those of His soldiers who have taken the call of duty to the Lord seriously, and have given themselves to His ministry here on earth.

These five crowns are:

• The Crown of Righteousness - 2 Tim 4:8 - This crown will probably be the most common crown in heaven, as it will be given to all who love his appearing.

• The Incorruptible Crown - 1 Cor 9:25 - This crown is given to those who overcome. Overcome what? More than anything overcoming the flesh nature. Although we are all to do this, not all believers succeed. Many of us are governed by our flesh, instead of our spirit.

• The Crown of Joy - 1 Thess 2:19-20 - This crown is given to those who have taken joy in being soul winners for the Lord.

• The Crown of Gloria - 1 Pet 5:2-4 - This crown is given to those who have given up their own desires in order to minister for the Lord. In a sense, these people have cast away their own glory, and will receive the glory of the Lord as their crown.

• The Crown of Life - Rev 2:10 - This crown is given to those who have suffered severe persecution, and to those who have died as martyrs.

There seems to be somewhat of a hierarchy in these crowns, just as there are in the various medals and ribbons that an army gives its soldiers who do outstanding things. Some of them are given for specific acts, while others are given for specific people. But, in any case, it appears to me that most, if not all, people who go to heaven will receive some sort of crown. Others, such as the apostle Paul, might actually receive several crowns. I can easily see him having won all of the five crowns mentioned in scripture.

What are we going to do with these crowns? According to Revelations, chapter four, the 24 elders who are on the thrones around the throne of the Lord cast theirs at the feet of the Lord. I imagine that when we actually enter into His presence, our immediate reaction will be to follow their example and cast our crowns before Him as well.

But, that doesn't mean we will never wear those crowns. The crown is a symbol of authority. We will need those crowns when we sit to judge the angels. We will also wear them in heaven, so that those we see will know what we've accomplished here upon earth. Each believer who makes it to heaven will be honored for what they have done while here on earth.

Some will be greatly honored, while others will not. There will be many who make it to heaven, but nothing more. I feel sorry for those people, because although they will make it to heaven, the won't have the greatest blessings they could otherwise have received.

There is a term mentioned by Jesus, which is called "outer darkness." He mentions it three times, all of them in the book of Matthew (Mt 8:11-12; Mt 22:12-13; Mt 25:30). In all three cases, it is extremely clear that He is talking about believers. Many believers understand this place of "outer darkness" to refer to hell. But, if that's the case, it couldn't be talking about believers. Outer darkness must be part of heaven.

If we understand heaven to be like a city (such as it is mentioned in Revelations), the city has a center, which is where the throne of God is placed. Obviously, those who love the Lord will want to be close to His throne, but not everyone can be. Those places will be reserved for the people who the Lord gives the highest honor, such as the 24 elders.

Since all light in heaven emanates from the throne of God, the farther one gets from the throne, the darker it will become. So, those places which are far from the throne, although they may seem bright to us here on earth, will appear dark by comparison to the throne room of the Lord. This is the "outer darkness."

Although those who gain that place will be better off than those who didn't make it to heaven, I am sure that there will be many who say, "If I only had…"

There was a book I read a number of years ago, called "Intra Muros." This is Latin for "Within the Gates." It is the testimony of an elderly woman who was a missionary in India, died, went to heaven, and came back to life. She is very honest in stating that she wasn't sure if she actually died, or if she just had a dream about it. She even sub-titled the book, "My Dream of Heaven."

While I don't know whether, or not this woman actually went to heaven, I do know that the book she wrote really impacted me. The whole time I was reading it, an incredible feeling of peace came over me.

As I previously stated, the Bible says very little to us about heaven. We really don't know what it is like, possibly because God wants us to believe in him for faith, not for what we will receive when we get to heaven. It is equally possible that heaven is so wonderful that we can't understand it with our limited, earthly understanding. Paul said: "I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago… such an one caught up to the third heaven… 4 and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter" (2 Cor 12:2, 4). It is possible that this man, who most theologians think was Paul himself, heard things he can't utter because there aren't words in our languages. After all, how does one describe a color that doesn't exist here on earth?

Getting back to the woman's testimony. When this woman arrived at the gates of heaven, she was greeted, and welcomed. One of the people who was there to greet her was a family member who had previously died. This family member served as her guide to take her to her mansion and show her around it.

Her mansion was made primarily of marble, with lots of plants and flowers all around. Obviously, it had been prepared to her personal taste and to please her personal desires.

When they were about to enter particular one room of the house she stopped at the threshold, and wouldn't enter. There were long-stemmed roses throughout the room, all over the floor, walls, and ceiling, and she didn't want to step on them.

Her guide said to her with a smile, "Well, if you don't want to walk on them, why don't you pick them up?"

The woman extended her hand to pick up the roses, and found that her hand was stopped before reaching the flower, because it was embedded in the marble! In the Taj Majal palace of India, there is a wall made of transparent marble. Even though it is one foot thick, one can put there hand behind the wall, and clearly see it!

The story of this remarkable room was thus: As her mansion was under construction, a group of children came and asked if this was the home of such-and-such a woman. The workers answered in the affirmative, and they said, "When we were alive upon the earth, she was a great blessing to us, we would like to do something as a blessing to her. May we decorate this room?" When the workers replied in the affirmative, they went to work.

These children had brought with them armloads of long-stem roses. They threw them around this room, and wherever one landed it stuck, whether to walls, floor, or ceiling. Then they took out some type of special tool to embed them into the marble. Since nothing ever dies in heaven, those flowers will be there as a perpetual reminder to that woman of the thanks of those children.

I don't know if this is the truth, or not. But, to me, it paints a beautiful picture; that our homes in heaven will be filled with remembrances, and gifts of thanks from those whom we have blessed here on earth.

But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.

Mt 6:20

Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.

Mt 19:21

Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.

Lk 12:33

Jesus, Himself, taught on the necessity of storing up treasures in heaven; not only in these verses, but many more as well. One of the ways, in fact the most common way, He mentioned for storing up treasures is through giving to the poor and needy. What kind of treasures are these? I doubt they are financial treasures, because I don't think we'll need money up there. They must be other types of treasures, such as that woman received from those children she ministered to here on earth.

Although the Bible doesn't say so specifically, it seems reasonable to me that those treasures are "prizes" that will be prepared for us. I don't know if they will be prepared by the Lord, by the angels, or by the people who we have been a blessing to, but I am sure that they exist; because the scripture speaks of those five crowns I've already mentioned.

This life we live here on earth isn't the real life, it's only a test. We must study so that we can pass the test, and enter into the real life. If that is so, we need to make sure that while we are here, we prepare well for the true life, which is to come. We not only need to "get saved" so that we can pass the test, but invest in the life to come. When people understand this, it will help them understand the need to do something while they are here on earth.

Let me finish with this:

For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. ¹² Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; ¹³ Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. ¹⁴ If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. ¹⁵ If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

1 Cor 3:11-15

Everyone is building something with his, or her life; the question is, What are we building? It is not for you and me to decide, but for the Lord. In the end of all things, when we stand before the judgment seat of Christ, the fire of God will consume all the wood, hay and stubble we have built. All that will remain will be that which is of gold, silver, and precious stones. For some, that means that nothing will be left; for others, there will be much. We can only take those things which remain along with us into heaven.

What are these things, and what do they symbolize? To find out, we must look at the symbolism in Old Testament prophecy:

• Gold - means divinity

• Silver - means sanctification

• Precious stones - represent people, or groups of people

• Wood - stands the human body, or the carnal man

• Hay - represents food

• Stubble - stands for that which is useless and thrown on the fire to burn

Looking at this, we can see why it is important where we invest our time. If, for example, all we do is invest our time in eating, it won't be worth anything. On the other hand, if we invest it in living a sanctified life it will be worth much.

The question which each of us needs to face is, what will remain? Will we enter into heaven with empty hands, or with hands filled with the treasure we have stored up. No man knows, only the Father, but the wise will search their own hearts and lives to seek the answer.